Hoa Sen has announced a 97 per cent growth in Q3 profit.  Photo Courtesy Hoa Sen Group

HCM CITY — Steel maker Hoa Sen Group has reported a 94 per cent jump year-on-year in third quarter profit after tax to VNĐ161 billion (US$6.9 million).

Its third quarter for the fiscal year 2018-19 lasts from April 1 to June 30 2019.

Operating profit was up 127 per cent at VNĐ208 billion ($8.9 million).

But net revenues slumped by 30 per cent to VNĐ7.2 trillion ($310 million).

The gross profit margin for the quarter was up to 13.4 per cent from 9.99 per cent in the same period last year.

The company said the steel industry has been facing many challenges in the last two years due to the trade war between the US and China and intense competition in the domestic market from cheap low-quality imports.

The property market slump has also been a challenge, it said.

But the company effected a timely restructure and focused on developing markets and products that fetched high profits, it said, adding that it cut operational and marketing costs.

It managed to cut management costs by 50 per cent thanks to installing the enterprise resource planning (ERP), which helps connect the company with its 10 factories, 55 offices and 526 retail outlets.

HSG is also focusing on exploring new export markets and improving quality to meet the demands of buyers.

It ships its products to many markets including Australia, Mexico, Canada and the US.

The company has a 34 per cent share of the domestic steel sheet market and 18 per cent of the steel pipe market.

In the 2017-18 fiscal year its exports rose 27 per cent to $538 million.

Earlier, the company had said it would not be affected by the US Department of Commerce’s preliminary ruling on the circumvention inquiries it made into Vietnamese cold-rolled steel and corrosion-resistant steel exports since it used materials from Việt Nam or imports from markets other than Taiwan and South Korea for making products exported to the US. — VNS